Come on now ...
Come on now ...
For weeks now, this sound barricade along I-20 near Candler Road has been damaged. What will it take to get it repaired?
... to Wilson Welding Service on Snapfinger Road, please find a better place to store your scrapped vehicles, or at least put it behind a privacy fence.
Put Litter in Its Place Let’s Do Our Part to Keep DeKalb Beautiful
EAST ATLANTA • DECATUR • STONE MOUNTAIN • LITHONIA • AVONDALE ESTATES • CLARKSTON • ELLENWOOD • PINE LAKE • REDAN • SCOTTDALE • TUCKER
Copyright © 2016 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.
January 16, 2016
Volume 21, Number 38
www.crossroadsnews.com
Community service still a major component of King Day As we prepare to celebrate the 31th annual Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 18, the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are as enduring as ever. Locally and nationally, the country and the world continue to put service into the national holiday that honors him. We do it to honor his wish, made known to us in his Feb. 4, 1968 sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church. “When I have to meet my day,...I would like somebody to mention that Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to give his life serving others.” Had he lived, King would have been 87 years on Jan. 15. King Day Service Projects abound in our
area and in our pull section – B1-B12 – inside this issue, we highlight some of them in Decatur, Lithonia, Stone Mountain, Clarkston, Atlanta and so on. All across over communities, adults and children will be helping seniors, children, and refugees, and repairing and sprucing up community centers, state parks and cemetaries, among other projects. We are also remembering King in forums, parades, and performances and discovering the timelessness of his message. Once again, as a nation, we are working and marching to honor the man who fought for civil, human and voting rights that opened doors and created a more level playing field for all Americans.
Students from Chapel Hill Elementary in Decatur marching in the 2015 DeKalb NAACP King Parade. The
2016 parade kicks off Jan. 18 at 11 a.m. in Decatur.
Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNews
Georgia State University signs merger New moniker as consolidation becomes official
Georgia State University is now officially in DeKalb County, and there are signs to prove it. The 113-year-old research college, based in downtown Atlanta, unveiled its GSU signs on campuses in Clarkston, Decatur and Dunwoody on Jan. 13. Its merger with Georgia Perimeter College became effective on Jan. 13. The sign installation erased the last vestige of the old two-year college that was founded as DeKalb College for DeKalb County students by the DeKalb Board of Education in 1964. DeKalb students will now be able to access Georgia State University’s four-year bachelor’s degree program at these campuses, and with less paperwork. GPC’s signs also were removed from its old campuses in Alpharetta and Newton County. Peter Lyons, dean of the newly consolidated schools, said at a Jan. 13 sign unveiling ceremony that students who used to Peter Lyons seek four-year degrees after completing the old GPC’s two-year associate degree program will find it easier to do. “They won’t need to complete a lot of applications and submit fees,” said Lyons, who became the combined institution’s first dean and vice provost in November. “They’ll be able to fill out a one-page document. They’ll have to satisfy the entry requirements for a four-year degree, but once they do that [the process] is very easy.” The Board of Regents approved the consolidation of both institutions on Jan. 6, 2015, to help improve student retention and graduation rates. After that vote, University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby said
GSU President Mark Becker (at right) pulls away the old Georgia Perimeter College sign on Jan. 13 to reveal the Georgia State University sign and logo on the Clarkston Campus.
GSU Photo
Georgia State University officials pose beside the new sign and logo at the Decatur Campus on Panthersville Road on Wednesday.
Ken Watts / CrossRoadsNews
GSU students started at the system is keenly focused on access and Georgia Perimeter. college completion. “We just want to take The consolidation became effective on something that’s worked Jan. 13, 2016. well in the past and make During Wednesday’s celebration at the it much more seamless,” Clarkston Campus, GSU President Mark Becker said. Becker said they want to take what they At the sign unveiling have done at Georgia State to promote stuat the former GPC Decadent success and roll it out to the Perimeter Mark Becker tur Campus on Pantherscolleges. He said that about 20 percent of current ville Road, volunteers served refreshments
and handed out Georgia State University T-shirts in the Student Center. The merger seems popular with students like business administration major Nicholas McDonald. “I think it’s a great move for us,” McDonald said. “It builds up the credibility of this college by linking us with Georgia State.” Keyshauna Hodges, a mass communications major, says consolidation helped her decide where to continue her education. “I always was going to transfer to a four-year university so I probably will go to Georgia State,” she said. With the consolidation, GSU’s enrollment jumps from 32,082 to nearly 60,000 students, making it one of the largest universities in the country. Mary Hickman Brown, dean of students at the Decatur Campus, said the merger will bring benefits for students beyond the classroom. “They will have passes to NCAA athletic events at the downtown campus along with student leadership possibilities,” Brown said.